Blunkett expected to quit ... and the rest of today's news

David Blunkett appears to have bowed to the building pressure for his resignation and quit as work and pensions secretary after several days of controversy over his business dealings. We'll be updating regularly as the story develops and will bring you Blunkett's statement, which is expected to happen at 11am, and we've a timeline of events since his first resignation last year. All this should make prime minister's questions at midday even more interesting. As usual we'll be covering PMQs as they happen.

On the international news front we'll be asking Paris correspondent Jon Henley to explain in an audio report what's going on in the French capital after a sixth night of riots, and we have a piece from Red Pepper editor Hilary Wainwright on the foundation of the European Left party as an attempt to fill the political vacuum left by the shifting policies of the continent's social democratic parties.